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My child has injured a baby tooth. What do I do?

For many parents, just the thought makes them cringe. Dental injuries and children often go hand in hand, and it is important to know what to do if your child sustains a dental injury.

The treatment for deciduous teeth (often called milk teeth or baby teeth), is different from the treatment for injury to or loss of a permanent tooth.

If your child knocks out a baby tooth, do not put it back into the socket. Doing so can cause damage to the permenant teeth that have not yet come through. What you must do;

• Firstly, try to stay calm.
• Get your child to bite down onto a face washer or clean cloth to help stop the bleeding.
• Put the tooth or tooth fragments into milk or saliva;
  • Pick up the tooth by the crown – do not touch the root.
  • If it is visibly dirty, rinse in milk, saliva, or saline for a few seconds without rubbing or scrubbing.
  • Use a ziplock bag of milk or saliva (or anything you can find that will work similarly), to store the tooth.
  • If you do not have milk or a bag available to you, put the tooth in your mouth between your cheek and gums. This will keep the tooth safe, because if the child were to do this, they would likely swallow it.
• Go to your dentist or an emergency dental service. If there is no emergency dental service in your area, take your child to your nearest hospital’s emergency department.

Your dentist will take a look and advise on the best course of action, and what you can expect from the injured tooth/area.

Information is taken from the ADS “Your Dental Health – Children 0-11 years” and “A Life. A Finger. A Pea Up a Nose.” A guide to Baby and Child First Aid by CPR Kids Founder, Sarah Hunstead.